Back in the saddle... again.

I would wager that there have been many posts titled this way - but today it seems especially appropriate.
Tomorrow is our annual "rodeo" at school. It could be described as a music program, but more harrowing.
During THIS program, 90-odd preschoolers and Kindergartners must gallop into the gymnasium on the various and sundry stick-horses they have (or have not) created at home.

We sing songs and *as a special addition to this year's program* Ms. Smarty-Pants Music Teacher decided that it would be cute to end it by scootin' a boot to the Cotton Eyed Joe.
The only version devoid of foul language that I could locate ends up clocking in at a whopping 4 minutes and 22 seconds long. Let me tell you, it doesn't sound that bad - until you remember the ages of the children in question and factor in their coordination.

Picture 90 'shannons' doing their rendition of the Cotton Eyed Joe.... Sorry to sell you out like that, sis. But it's true...

They fall all over the place. They look like little bowling pins knocking each other down. And unlike 90-something 'shannons', they don't laugh it off. Each one expects you to rush over to them, scoop them up, and offer them a Boo-boo bear to make it better. It's a nightmare.

By the end of nearly 4 and a half minutes, I am frothing like an old mare that got spooked out on the trail.

Usually at the culmination of this motley rodeo, there will be dead sequins, partial boas, half-crushed googly eyes, yarn 'mane' remains, and dismembered stick-horses splattered all over the gym floor. A gruesome sight, for sure.

The parents of the Cowpokes are usually so enamored with the "Cute Factor" that I come out on the other side relatively intact.

So "back in the saddle again" is right. Maybe next year, I'll have the foresight to call in sick...